A New Hampshire radio host has been fired after filming herself harassing a group of Hispanic landscaping workers in a racist tirade sparked after she heard them speaking in Spanish.
Dianna Ploss, a former host for WSMN radio, had been on her way into the studio in downtown Nashua on July 10 when she happened upon a group of laborers working along the roadside.
Ploss apparently became incensed when she heard a Caucasian worker from Morin’s Landscaping speaking Spanish to his Hispanic colleagues.
‘Are you speaking English?’ Ploss is heard yelling at the workers in the video. ‘It is America. English. English. English,’ she repeats several times.
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Dianna Ploss, a former host for WSMN radio, had been on her way into the studio in downtown Nashua on July 10 when she happened upon a group of laborers working along the roadside.
Ploss apparently became incensed when she heard a Caucasian worker from Morin’s Landscaping speaking Spanish to his Hispanic colleagues
In a bizarre attempt to justify her demands, Ploss tells the workers ‘you work for the state, you should be speaking English.’ When the workers reply they in fact work for a private company and not the state, Ploss remains undeterred.
‘Is anyone here illegal?’ Ploss she then asks. ‘It is America. Speak English,’ she says again as she walks past the workers.
Ploss, an avid Trump supporter, then launches into a perplexing and paranoid monologue about Communism.
‘So they have these people out here, who don’t speak English, who are putting in this stuff, that tax payers and paying for and look what they’re doing. This is Communism. This is Communism,’ she repeats. ‘They’re taking over these streets’.
Amid the commotion caused by Ploss’ soliloquy, an African American man is seen approaching her from the other side of the road, asking her ‘Why are you harassing these people?’
‘Are they in America?’ Ploss asks the bystander, to whom replies yes. ‘Then they should be speaking English,’ she retorts.
When the man asks her on what basis the workers are legally required to speak English, Ploss offers not further explanation, simply responding, ‘They should be speaking English’.
When the bystander continues to question her point of view, Ploss says: ‘Why do you care? I wasn’t talking to you.’
Amid the commotion caused by Ploss’ soliloquy, an African American man is seen approaching her from the other side of the road, asking her ‘Why are you harassing these people?’
Event Organizer and MAGA activist Dianna Ploss speaks during the Massachusetts 4 Trump Christmas Party and Trump 2020 in January, 2019
In a statement posted to its website, WSMN announced Sunday that Ploss was ‘no longer associated or affiliated in any way with WSMN’
The talk-show host then tells the man she has the right to harass the workers, before asking the man ‘why are you wearing a face mask?’
When the man points out that there’s a ‘global pandemic going on’, Ploss replies: ‘Oh, okay. So this guy’s coming over here to be a social justice warrior.
‘Because he’s a black man,’ she elongates sarcastically, ‘He’s gonna protect the brown man from this white woman who is practicing white privilege, because she happened to walk by and heard this guy talking to all of these guys in Spanish.’
After posting the incident to social media, Ploss, who in 2018 served as press secretary for anti-LGBTQ campaigner Scott Lively, insisted in a later post ‘I’m not backing down’ following the controversy her video stirred.
‘Good Morning, Patroits,’ she said in another post. ‘So if you want people in America to speak English, that makes you a “racist”’ she wrote, accompanied with a confused emoji.
In the hours since her video went viral, a petition to have Ploss and her show removed from WSMN’s airwaves was set up, garnering 6,538 signatures.
‘We are asking WSMN Radio to do the right thing, suspend her radio program, and stop giving her a platform to spread hate, ignorance, and racist rhetoric,’ campaign organizer Julia K. Morrin wrote on the page. ‘Hate has no place here.’
In a statement posted to its website, WSMN announced Sunday that Ploss was ‘no longer associated or affiliated in any way with WSMN’.
‘We at WSNM value freedom of speech, freedom of expression and assembly,’ the company continued. ‘We will not tolerate discrimination, racism or hatred.
‘We continue to present and offer on air opportunities for discussion, education and the exchange of opinions and ideas,’ the station concluded.
Messages of a similar sentiment have been written under posts on Ploss’ Facebook page by angered viewers of the video who have since labelled her a ‘Karen’, a popular pejorative term used online to describe a middle-aged white woman who’s deemed to be acting obnoxious, angry, entitled, or racist.
‘May help if you actually pronounced the English words correctly yourself rather than berating people working hard (not bothering you),’ Lori Lundergan wrote. ‘I hope the next time you enjoy the ability to travel internationally, you only speak in their national language fluently and without any accents. (Don’t forget, in your video, you went from yelling about their freedom to speak to each other in whatever language they pleased to their rights to work and be here. THAT, my dear, is racism.)’
‘Here in America it’s also rude to listen in on other people’s conversations and if they spoke English you wouldn’t have even thought about it,’ added Jamie Campbell.
In a pinned comment in the post, Ploss insisted: ‘Here in America it’s also rude to listen in on other people’s conversations and if they spoke English you wouldn’t have even thought about it.’
Brenden McShea replied to the comment, ‘If you’re part of the “silent majority” why don’t you shut the f*** up?’
‘The United States does not have an official language. Can you possibly be any uglier,’ added Laura Colebrooke.
In a post authored shortly after noon on Sunday, Ploss wrote: ‘We will weather the storm that is upon us.’